Housing Wire

OCTOBER 21, 2024

Since 2019, the state of Florida has built more than 77,000 new properties in areas with a high risk of flooding. This is the most among all states, according to an analysis by climate-modeling firm First Street Foundation on behalf of the The Wall Street Journal. The construction activity is likely to place the housing industry and its financing partners on a “collision course” with insurers, the outlet said.

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Appraisal Buzz

NOVEMBER 13, 2024

According to new research from Clever Real Estate , a St. Louis-based real estate company, homebuyers spend an average of $31,975 in homebuying expenses, such as closing costs, repairs, and moving, in addition to their down payment. The costs are broken down into the following: Repairs and renovations: $13,498 Furniture, fixtures, and appliances: $6,446 Closing costs: $4,754 Concessions to seller: $3,943 Moving costs: $2,670 Private mortgage insurance: $387 annually Home inspection: $277 The rep

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 23, 2024

It has been almost two months since mortgage rates spiked again, and my initial thought was this would tank housing demand. We had a positive 18-week period with purchase applications before mortgage rates started rising in September. I figured those increases would produce the same weakness in purchase apps that we saw earlier in the year. However, surprisingly, demand has held up better than I anticipated.

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 28, 2024

After previously taking issue with some of the forms generated as a result of the terms of the National Association of Realtors ’ (NAR) nationwide commission lawsuit settlement agreement , University of Buffalo law professor Tanya Monestier is now objecting to NAR’s settlement. In a document filed on Monday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City — less than a month before the NAR settlement is slated for its final approval hearing — Monestier took issue with the business practice changes, sayi

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 19, 2024

We heard a lot about the need for millions of new homes during the run-up to the election, so I can imagine how shocked some people are to see today’s report on housing starts and permits at recession levels. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari recently stated that housing demand is high so the clearance rate (mortgage rates) should be higher.

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 31, 2024

Over the last decade, real estate transactions have increasingly become a prime target for cybercrime. Far from slowing down, the scams are becoming more prevalent, sophisticated, and difficult to recognize as fraudulent. With October being Cybersecurity Awareness Month, it is important that the real estate industry and consumers speak up and spread the word about how to prevent these real estate cybercrimes.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

Jerome Powell , the chair of the Federal Reserve , said on Thursday that the U.S. economy is “not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates.” The statement was enough to raise mortgage rates to an even higher level, a sharp departure from the optimism lenders experienced during the September rally, which now seems like a distant memory.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 7, 2024

Climate change is increasing the intensity and severity of natural disasters. It’s resulting in calls to reimagine the costs of homeowners insurance (Image generated by AI in Midjourney) As the planet warms and extreme weather intensifies, the rising cost of homeowners insurance is stopping real estate deals in their tracks. In just the past two months, two major hurricanes battered Florida, inflicting physical and financial damage that is projected to exceed $100 billion.

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Insurance Supply Chain Real Estate Design 482

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 29, 2024

In the latest episode of the RealTrending podcast , Amy Stockberger — broker-owner of Amy Stockberger Real Estate — joins Tracey Velt for a tantalizing conversation that covers her teamerage’s unique “Lifetime Home Support” model and other ways that agents can provide value to home buyers and sellers. This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 30, 2024

Lower mortgage rates in September had a measurable impact on home sales. According to data released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), pending home sales in September jumped 7.4% compared to August and 2.6% year over year. NAR’s index reading of 75.8 is the highest number since March. An index reading of 100 equates to sales activity in 2001.

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 15, 2024

Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. has agreed to settle with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the U.S Department of Justice (DOJ) over the regulators’ allegations of mortgage lending discrimination in majority-Black neighborhoods of the Birmingham, Alabama , metro area. The agreement, which was submitted for court approval, requires the Madison, Wisconsin-based mortgage lender to pay a $1.9 million civil penalty.

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Advertising Lending Loan Officers Retail 468

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 29, 2024

Is home-price growth finally cooling? That’s a question raised by the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index for August, which showed deceleration on a year-over-year basis and a slight dip relative to July. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the national home price index posted a 4.2% gain year over year, less than the 4.8% gain from July. The monthly index fell by 0.1%.

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Mortgage Sellers Buyers Housing Market 482

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 18, 2024

California-based Provident Funding Associates LLC is getting out of the Florida condo lending business , it told broker partners on Friday. In an email sent Friday morning, Provident said that it would “no longer be accepting new applications for condominiums ” effective that day. Provident told broker partners that all loans in the pipeline must be locked by 11:59 p.m.

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 21, 2024

Another regulator has sued Rocket Mortgage for allegedly discriminating against a Black homeowner by undervaluing her home during an appraisal in Colorado three years ago. And the Detroit-based lender believes it’s a “massive overreach.” On Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice —following a move made by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in July—filed a lawsuit against the lender, appraiser Maksym Mykhailyna and his company, Maverick Appraisal Group ,

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 25, 2024

Many renters think they’re saving money by renting, but long term, that might not be true. In some of the U.S.’s largest metros, a monthly mortgage payment is less expensive than the average rent. But there are many factors surrounding affordability—how do city dwellers make this decision? A new report from Zillow Home Loans outlines some key trends and factors for renters to consider when evaluating a home purchase.

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 22, 2024

Mortgage rates continue to rise, serving as a bucket of cold water for lenders and consumers that were warming to lower borrowing costs just a few months ago. According to HousingWire ‘s Mortgage Rates Center , the average 30-year conforming rate was 6.61% on Tuesday. That was up 15 basis points (bps) from one week ago and 30 bps higher than on Sept. 18, when the Federal Reserve lowered benchmark rates by 50 bps.

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Sellers Mortgage Marketing Construction 467

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 21, 2024

Home prices firmed up in today’s existing home sales report , but we caught on to this trend two months ago with our Housing Market Tracker. Traditionally, home prices soften in the second half of the year and I had counted on this for my price forecast , which predicted 2.33% home-price growth for 2024. However, that didn’t happen. The difference is mortgage rates: even with inventory growing at a healthy clip this year, mortgage rates just heading down toward 6% for a brief period of tim

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Mortgage Housing Market Inventory Contracts 487

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 1, 2024

Vetted by HousingWire | Our editors independently review the products we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Whether you’re looking to start a career in real estate, already have one or are involved in real estate transactions, you may find yourself wondering about industry terminology and job titles. The industry acronyms alone look like alphabet soup.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 19, 2024

Its late December so all the 2025 mortgage rate forecasts have been published. Unfortunately, all of them are already wrong. Most housing market analysts expect mortgage rates to spend the year with a 6 handle. The most optimistic predictions assume 2025 will see mostly low 6s for the 30-year fixed rate mortgage. And yet with pesky inflation data not falling as quickly or as far as expected, Fed chair Jerome Powell suddenly changed his language in the Fed meeting on Dec. 19.

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Mortgage Housing Market Marketing Realtors 432

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 14, 2024

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) this week published a report assessing the performance of government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in reaching their single-family housing goals. The CBO found that the GSEs “met or exceeded” nearly all goals over a four-year period from 2018 to 2022. The CBO analyzed data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) data in its report.

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Government Finance Legal Mortgage 535

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 5, 2024

Vetted by HousingWire | Our editors independently review the products we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Are you looking to add a dose of inspiration, humor and expertise to your Instagram feed? From luxury property tours to laugh-out-loud real estate memes, these 21 agents and influencers bring the best of the industry right to your phone.

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Real Estate Agents Real Estate Agent Luxury Properties 397

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 24, 2024

anely Sandoval’s calling to be a pre-foreclosure peacemaker started when she was in high school. “My mom and stepdad went into pre-foreclosure,” said Sandoval, a real estate agent and investor who specializes in working in low-income, often Latino neighborhoods in Southern California. “I knew things were going down, but I didn’t know how bad it was until people started knocking on our door.

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Retail Buyers Renovations Finance 448

Appraisal Buzz

DECEMBER 3, 2024

Where is the best place to spend your golden years? According to U.S. News & World Report’s new study, 2025’s Best Places to Retire in the U.S. , Naples, Florida takes the top spot. Florida’s Paradise Coast beat out 149 other top U.S. cities, with Virginia Beach, New York City, Sarasota, and Boise rounding out the top five best retirement locales.

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Real Estate Appraisal Marketing 397

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 30, 2024

Despite initial concerns that tariffs would push mortgage rates up to 8% and reduce housing demand, this week has brought some encouraging news. The 10-year yield has remained stable at a crucial technical level and even reversed direction, resulting in improved mortgage rates. Additionally, housing demand has surprisingly held up, even with elevated mortgage rates.

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Mortgage Inventory New Listings Contracts 518

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 24, 2024

Online real estate marketplace Auction.com released data this week showing that demand for distressed homes — including bank-owned properties and foreclosures — shrank for a second straight quarter. The company’s Auction Market Dispatch for third-quarter 2024 included a survey conducted in late September of more than 140 active buyers on the platform.

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Housing Market Marketing Retail Development 482

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 10, 2024

Ongoing supply and affordability challenges in the housing market have frustrated many homeowners who have looked to trade up or relocate for various reasons. In response, some consumers have turned to renovation projects to meet their needs. According to survey data released this week by St. Louis-based Clever Real Estate , 63% of homeowners would rather remodel their current home than move to one that has already been fixed up.

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Renovations Advertising Housing Market Lending 476

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

Homebuyers who are part of Generation X — primarily born between the mid 1960s and the early 1980s — should keep accessibility features in mind as they approach retirement, since Americans are increasingly looking to age in place in their own homes once their time in the workforce is complete. This is according to a recent article at the Boston Globe that took a closer look at the kinds of homes that those currently in their mid-to-late 50s may want to prioritize as they look to the future.

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Design Renovations Retail Home Improvement 434

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 30, 2024

A 60 basis point increase in mortgage rates in October has strangled mortgage demand, particularly for refinancings , according to the latest survey data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Mortgage applications overall decreased 0.1% from one week earlier, per the MBA ‘s weekly applications survey for the week ending Oct. 25. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 0.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, but fell 1% on an

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Mortgage Government Inventory Marketing 467

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 7, 2024

Last week, we witnessed a Santa Claus rally in mortgage rates alongside improved housing demand. The economy continues to create jobs, with wages growing at an annual rate of 4%. We also see growth in our pending contract data compared to 2022 and 2023. Additionally, the purchase application data delivered another pleasant surprise with positive results.

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New Listings Inventory Contracts Housing Market 505

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 15, 2024

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) — the regulatory body that oversees communications across a wide variety of media including radio, telephone and the internet — announced that new rules related to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) will go into effect in April 2025. The new guidelines are designed to make it easier for consumers to revoke consent for unwanted robocalls and texts.

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Design Real Estate Business Mortgage 482

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 20, 2024

Nearly three quarters of recent American home sellers said in a Clever survey that using a traditional real estate agent is the best way to sell. As real estate agents adjust to sweeping changes brought by the commission lawsuit settlement, a new report from discount brokerage Clever Real Estate reveals one thing hasn’t shifted: Americans still overwhelmingly trust full-service agents to sell their homes.

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Real Estate Agent Real Estate Agents Sellers 476

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

The housing bubble crash theory has failed once again as we approach the end of 2024, but it’s always important to know why something didn’t happen. This week, we got the updated New York Fed credit data report and it shows the strong position of homeowners — especially in comparison to the years before the Great Financial Crisis. This is the kind of information you need as we get close to Thanksgiving and share the dinner table with Uncle Dave who says (for the 13th year) that we’re seein

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New Listings Sellers Mortgage Law 521

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 13, 2024

With fluctuating mortgage rates and economic pressure in the housing market, foreclosure activity ramped up in October 2024. According to real estate data provider Attom , homebuyers may face more challenges heading into 2025. Attom released its October 2024 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report on Tuesday. It showed that 30,784 properties had foreclosure filings last month.

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Housing Market Real Estate Government Mortgage 448

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 18, 2024

They say housing leads the economy in and out of a recession. Currently, housing starts are back at the levels seen during the COVID-19 recession in 2020. Interestingly, employment for residential construction workers typically one of the first areas to experience declines before a recession has not yet seen its usual downturn. Several factors have been keeping labor steady, such as working through a backlog of orders and long turnaround times to complete projects.

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